Here’s to naked destabilizers

I attended a forum on sustainable construction at the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering the other week. Visits to the Diliman campus–once upon a time called the "Diliman Republic"–do not occur as often as I’d like, so each chance I get to visit my alma mater is a welcome one indeed. A lot, of course, has changed since my days in Palma Hall, then home to the College of Arts and Sciences–these days the college isn’t even called that anymore, the arts separated now from the sciences.

What hasn’t changed, happily, is the spirit of inquiry, even of contrariness and challenge, that infects people in the Diliman community, teachers as well as students. The open forum that followed the four presentations was spirited, with questions ranging from sustainable construction methods for medical facilities to the use of kryptonite.The emphasis was on thinking out of the box–why, forget about the box even! Students were encouraged, challenged, to push the boundaries of design and construction, and change the mind set that limits what one can and should do.

There was a reference to the remarks of that Cabinet secretary (who obviously–thank goodness!–was never part of the Diliman community) about Diliman being a breeding ground for destabilizers and naked runners. One professor, who could very well have been, in his student days, both a destabilizer and a naked runner–or maybe he still is–made a point that perhaps they should aspire to be "naked destabilizers", and strip off a lot of unnecessary things (like long sleeved shirts, he mentioned, so we would not need so much energy-consuming air conditioning) as they pursue the all-important tasks of questioning what is, of exploring possibilities and potentials, of challenging accepted norms and the tried–and oft-times tired–and tested way of doing things.

The tradition of "destabilizing" is an honored one at the university, as it should be in any university worth its name. It is the sacred task of thinkers–and I would hope the university is populated by thinkers–to question what already is, to imagine what could be, and to figure out how to turn what could be into what eventually is. It is a great tragedy for all of us when the powers that be see such "destabilizing" as a threat, and start cracking down and stifling such questioning.

As for the "naked runners" of the Oblation run–well, they are part of Diliman tradition too, so let them be.